Lucid Dreaming Speech (I'm No Hippie!)

In my communications class this semester, we are required to give an informative speech. I chose lucid dreams, because I've had them in the past (they're AWESOME) and because I feel it's an interesting topic anyone could get into. My speech only scratches the surfy-surface of the subject, but I thought I'd post here...just because. Hopefully someone is bored enough to read it, and finds it interesting!:

Some 2400 years ago Aristotle wrote, "Oftentimes when one is asleep, there is something in the conciousness that declares that what presents itself is but a dream." He was talking about lucid dreaming. In it's simplest terms, lucid dreaming is when a sleeping person becomes aware of the fact that they are dreaming. Perhaps some of you are like me and have accidentally experienced a lucid dream in the past, but in fact, lucid dreaming is a difficult, but learnable skill that is capable of stopping nightmares, letting you live out your fantasies, and even help you overcome fears. As a chronic nightmare sufferer and sometime lucid dreamer, I am going to talk to you about a little bit of the history of lucid dreaming, as well as some very basic tricks and tips to becoming lucid in your own dreams.

Lucid dreaming has been mentioned periodically throughout history. Aristotle was the first to mention it in 4th century BC, and Lewis Carrol was inspired to write Alice in Wonderland after experiencing a lucid dream. But perhaps the most shocking even in it's history is something called Dream Yoga. In it's practice, Thibetian Buddhists clamed to hold on to their lucidity for 24 hours, even after they' stopped dreaming, which is an astonishing claim. But, by the 19th century lucid dreaming was gaining popularity in the modern world, but mostly by philosophers with very shady backgrounds, like occultist Hugh Callaway, and Russian Philosopher P.D. Ouspensky who also had an interest in the bizarre study of "higher dimensions of existence." You can tell by the title that the subject was way off in left field. Lucid dreaming's association with such offbeat characters cast a huge shadow of skepticism across the subject in the science world where it's existence was largely dismissed.

It wasn't until pyschophysiologist Stephen LaBerge's 1978 study at Stanford University that Lucid Dreaming achieved any relevance in the science world. LaBerge, an avid lucid dreamer, used the rapid eye movement of REM cycles and EEG readings to prove that lucid dreams are real. In his experiment, LaBerge was hooked up to the electrodes of an EEG machine, and before falling asleep, he and his assistant agreed on a signal that would prove he as in a lucid dream: 2 controlled up-and-down eye movements. This might sound strange, but remember that lucid dreamers can have a degree of control over the events in their dreams. LaBerge would then fall asleep. It took many attempts, but LaBerge was able to successfully enter a lucid dream, and give the signal, which appeared clearly on his EEG readings. He was then able to replicate his experiment several times on himself and other lucid dreamers. He then took his findings to the international headquarters for sleep and dream research (the APSS) whose members deemed that "a firm case had been made for the existence of lucid dreaming under controlled laboratory conditions." Lucid dreaming finally had a foot in the door of the scientific world!

Hopefully by now I've convinced you that lucid dreaming isn't some crazy hippie phenomena, and that it has actual scientific evidence to back it up. And maybe some of you are interesting in trying lucid dreams for yourself. In which case I have a few, very basic tips to get you started. The first thing is to learn to remember your dreams. You can do this by keeping a dream journal and writing down your dreams with as much detail as you can. This will help you to recognize your "dream signs" which are patterns in your dreams that will help you to realize that you're dreaming. Another tip is to simply tell yourself as you're drifting off to sleep that you'll have a lucid dream. The simple suggestion will increase your chances of becoming lucid. It is also helpful to sleep in 4.5 to six hour increments, stay awake for forty minutes, then go back to sleep. You are more likely to awake during a REM cycle and this boost your chances of lucidity by 20-50%. Now, if you do experience a lucid dream, but feel yourself beginning to wake up, try spinning around in circles. This helps to keep lucid dreams going about 96% of the time. Once you become lucid try to control the events that transpire. Try hopping up in the air and flying around, or confronting someone you've had issues with recently. The possibilities are truly endless.

It's important to remember that you probably won't achieve lucidity after one try. It's a skill that must be practiced and honed. Also, lucid dreaming isn't enjoyable for everyone, but it's definitely worth a try. I hope the information i have provided you with today acts as a stepping stone into your own adventures as a lucid dreamer. And if anyone gives it a try, I'd love to hear about your experiences!

Thank you, and goodnight!!

P.S. Seriously. I'm not a hippie.

-Brittany